Do you realize what you are standing on?

I enjoy watching movies, especially ones with humor thrown in at pivotal moments. One of the best gags from some of these is when two of the characters are talking and as one walks away, they say something like, "Oh, do you realize what you are standing on?" The other character looks down and either makes an ugly face and slowly lifts a foot to look under it or jumps a mile. These are the moments when the question means danger or they are standing on something horrible. The person is not completely aware of their surroundings. In any case, the question always marks a point of transition in the flow of the story. Therefore, it will make a great question for today and our lives.

Do you realize what you are standing on?

Whether you are sitting or standing, yes I heard that you are in this moment building the foundation for the next part of your life. Where your life's feet are planted is the launching point for what is next. It may be a moment of decision, a minute of rest, a time of reflection, or just walking to the next task in your day, you are laying the blocks that will form your life. So let us break this down and take a look at what is going on as you move through the moments of your life.

1. You only have the now and the space you currently occupy

   Here and now are the only things about which you are certain. What is behind you is lost forever to the power of change. Even if you physically turn around, go back to a physical object, and move it, you have not changed the past, but you have changed the possibilities of the future. This is the key to understanding what decisions really mean. There is no going back and setting things right in your life, there is only taking this moment to change what is wrong. Just because you have made mistakes in the past does not mean you have to keep repeating those mistakes. The only way to be a failure is to repeat the mistakes of the past on purpose in the now. In this moment, you have the chance to learn from those mistakes and make the next decision a better one. This is not limited to mistakes. You can look at the decisions from the past and make a better decision or even different to take a new direction. Now is the world of possibility limited only by how bold of decision you choose to make.

   Even though you cannot go back and set things right in the past, you can decide to attempt to forge a new relationship in spite of the damage done in the past. This is one of the most difficult decisions to make in the now. Making this decision goes beyond simply admitting there was a mistake that affects others, it means taking ownership of the mistake to another person. You acknowledge you are accountable for your decisions to the people around you. Decisions are not made in a vacuum. This realization is one of the most freeing and burdening epiphanies of life. When you go to someone from your past to establish a new relationship, you are taking a positive step into the future. The ground of your future is now based in honest personal responsibility. You are taking true ownership of your life, past, present, and future. Ownership is the only way you can choose the direction of your life. When action is taken on this decision, amazing things will happen; the best is you are freed of the anchor holding you to the past regardless of how you are received.

2. The decision must lead to action

   If you go through the process of coming to a conclusion on an action and then do not act, you have not made a decision. You have just wasted time and turned the ownership of the future over to whoever does make the decision you act on. Decisions, by their very nature, translate into actions. Actions follow a true decision without pause. In many cases the decision and action are so close in time we do not realize there is a separation. This is the mark of a decision, decide/act. The action becomes the momentum that propels us into the next moment and then the next. As we build the momentum it becomes harder to stop, but easier to direct. Once we understand the relationship of decisions to actions we can direct the actions. Even if all the energy we have built up to the now is from wrong decisions, the next decision can change the direction of that energy to a better outcome. Each decision after that can turn toward even better outcomes. This is why they are called "pivotal decisions". The energy leading up to the decision redirects into a different path. This does not have to be a big decision, sometimes the seemingly little ones are the ones that change what will be history. This points back to the fact no decision is made in a vacuum. They all change something.

3. Don't over thinking the decision
   

   For many, especially perfectionists and procrastinators, over thinking becomes a bad decision. When we over think, it forces someone else to decide. We are either, left behind, pushed aside, or forced into a direction not of our choosing. You cannot account for every variable and know every fact about every decision. You cannot see every outcome. You can only take what you have learned from the past, assess the moment you are in to gather as much information as possible, and deicide. Anything less and it is no longer your decision to make. Another sets the course and you have momentarily lost ownership. I say momentarily, because you can regain ownership in the next decision.

4. There is no limiting the possible decisions
   

   All of us have a little narrator in our head that is constantly doing color commentary on our actions and thoughts. Often this little voice tells all the reasons why we cannot do something. It may sound like someone from our past on occasion, but the truth is, the voice is really ours. It is all of the things we have accepted as truth about who we are and what we can do speaking to the decision at hand. These are limiters to decisions that are not always real. We have the ability to change this running narrative.

There are two things the voice does not want you to realize.

1. It may be lying to you, which means you are lying to yourself. If the voice is telling you that you cannot make the next decision a great one, that you cannot try something new, or there is no way you can take the opportunity in front of you, you cannot change direction at this point in the game, then it is lying to you. Yes, some things will not change. I am not going to get 30 years younger. That does not mean I cannot work to get in better shape and do some very tough things physically, like take a long hike. I can change the script to the possibilities of what I can do.
2. You can change the script. You have the power to change your story starting now. Either you can continue to see all of the limits as real or you can choose to start seeing the possibilities. The voice can continue to tell you "No" or it can be the coach telling you try it. If you change the script to a positive one, what is the worst that can happen; you find a way not to do something? That is all it is when the first time you try and do not succeed, you found a way not to do something and you gained a new perspective. You are not in the same place you were before you tried and you can now see the challenge differently. This change in perspective may give you the angle and elevation to see the solution or to see a better possibility in a different direction.

Where you are standing right now is the culmination of the decisions of your past. The energy moving you into the future has been directed by your decisions. To realize where you are standing right now is to realize you are standing on the pivot point of your future. You own the past decisions and you own this decision. This is the pivotal decision of your life. Are you going to keep making the same type of decisions you have always? Are going to stay on this same path? Are you going to learn from your past and make a better decision? Are you going to redirect the energy of your life towards a new horizon of possibility? Are you going to seize this moment to live it fully and lay the foundation for a future of unlimited possibilities?

Do you realize what you are standing on? You are standing on the edge of your future and the direction of the next step is your decision. Choose and act now.